As long s I Live-  A Harold Arlen Cotton Club song favoured by Jack Viertel, a polymath of all things dealing with musical theatre. In the songwriting match-up between Arlen and George Gershwin, Viertel comes down on the side of Arlen. His reasoning: Gershwin was more obvious and predictable in his compositions although still "brash and thrilling."  Arlen was much less predictable and capable of injecting surprising but endearing elements in his songs. One such trope Viertel described as " Unexpected melodic tags Arlen sometimes attaches at the very end, just when you thought the song was over ( If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow why, oh why , can't I ?" is certainly the most famous one of those tags.)"The song has often been sung terribly by me (Viertel) to my wife Linda." In addition to Arlen singing his own song in a most ebullient manner, this version is by Maxine Sullivan, a veteran Cotton Club performer. She has an easy swinging manner and is backed backed by a small jazz group. How fitting.  Arlen was deeply rooted in the jazz idiom ever since he led small jazz groups as a teenager in Buffalo, New York.
If you, like Viertel and I, deeply love Arlens' songs, obey Jack Viertels' admonishment to sing this particular song like Harold ( and Maxine did.) " It spreads joy."

 https://youtu.be/CFguuUiQ6RQ     Arlen

https://youtu.be/i0dpHzlhntA          Sullivan